《You Are the System [Interactive Apocalypse LitRPG]》


 Rough Day? Its about to get worst

    The rhythmic bumps and the occasional bang from the exhaust of his car were the only thing going through the mind of Steven as he drove across the city. The sky itself was unnaturally orange at this time of day, it currently around noon, although Steven didn''t seem to notice or mind. Heck, he would probably be a work right now if his boss didn''t fire him about a few hours ago.


    Now, he didn''t really like his job particularly much. He was an IT for a branch of some cable corporation, and due to the lack of other tech experts working there at the time, he was usually the only one working any server problems or unassigned computers. They were never difficult task, just a lot of them, but all got done. Plus the paychecks were enough to keep him and his girlfriend''s heads above water.


    This month was especially taxing, with the newly hired manager starting a brand new project of moving all of the training computers into a completely new and separate room, making more room for the already trained call service. It was only at the end of the project that he was informed that he was being replaced by a newer, less paid, IT straight from college.


    This hurt, yes. No one likes to go home without a job, especially after what was essentially an out of nowhere stab to his back. But at the end of the day, he didn''t care as much. He could find another job, and maybe this time it could actually be well staffed, or maybe even a challenge! But before all of that, he just wanted to go home. Tell his girlfriend, Heather, about what happened, and then fall asleep with her while watching a movie.


    Unfortunately again, this day had other plans. It was still early in the day at this point as he pulled into the driveway of their apartment. He tried to unlock the door, it weirdly already being unlocked. He made particular note of this, remembering that he locked the door. But maybe Heather just went out on a run and forgot to lock the door? That must of been it. Either that or he was really in rush to work this morning.


    Opening the door, he couldn''t help but feel unease about the place, almost as it he was looking at it for the first time. It was a big apartment. Two bedrooms, one for them while the other one was for guest or just general storage, two bathrooms, and a living room/kitchen area. The main bedroom was all the way at the back, past everything else. Each of Steven''s steps towards his room almost felt like they echoed, the silence deafening. But just then, it was easily pierced through as he stepped past the kitchen. It was Heather. And then another person.


    He didn''t need to see them, not at this point. The sounds were enough, more than enough. He could feel words start to form in his throat. Shouts! Curses! But they all seemed to have a weight to them, falling back down. Needing to escape, he rushes out of the apartment, her apartment, not even noticing as he SLAMS the door. He doesn''t wait or look back as he got back into his car, the car in some act of mercy starting up with only one turn of the key.


    He now finally gets to a hotel after driving for what felt like hours. Or maybe it really was hours? If he was honest, it seemed as if the whole drive was just a blur. "Is it the afternoon? When did it get this late?" He looks up to the sky, now seeing that it''s red. Almost if on queue to distract him, one of the hotel staff gets his attention, allowing him to quickly pay for a cheap last minute check in. As he approaches the room, he can feel it. The dam cracking. The knot forming into his throat. But he has to hold it in. He needs to hold it in.


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    Entering the room, he takes the remote off of the nightstand next to his bed for the night, turning on the TV and increasing it''s volume. It''s a bit awkward since it''s on a tv guide channel, the hostesses beautiful filling the room while only talking about what shows are airing and on what channels. Not really concerning himself with what''s on, he simply walks to the bathroom next and turns on the faucet and shower. Then, he slowly walks back to the bed, his movements getting sluggish before he sits down onto the floor with his back hitting against the bed.


    The dam fully breaks now, as he pulls his knees closer to himself, wet sobs escaping being muffled out by the storm of sound surrounding him. He stays like this for hours, a phone call finally bringing him out of it. It was his mother.


    "H-Hey mom. How''s it going?" He tries to gulp down his rock in the way of his voice, but can''t help but to choke out the first few words as he answers.


    "Honey, are you alright?" She ask, already seeing through his attempt. "There''s a lot of static around you. Are you watching the news as well?" Her voice seemed to suddenly have a spike of worry.


    "The news?" He looks down to his phone, looking through it to see if he could get a guess at what''s happening. His mother was usually never kept up with the news. "What''s going on-"


    His mom''s voice cut him off suddenly, this time a frantic yell. "Steven, look out side!" The call then ends, the screen glitching out afterwards.


    But before he even pulled away the curtains, he could already see a blue light poking at the edges. Almost on compulsion, he pushes his head through the curtain, his eyes trailing back up to the sky. It wasn''t red or orange, but now covered with blue flames, coming closer and closer down. But more concerning was the center of the fire storm, a orb of bright blue light that seemed to becoming bigger and bigger. It then dawns on him. "Is that our sun!?" He backs away from the curtains slowly, before trying to call his mom again. It didn''t go through. He tried to call the police. Didn''t go through. Heather! No. Anyone! But the ringing of his phone seemed to go on and on, only the voice of the lady on the TV being able to pierce through it.


    Then suddenly a series of messages started appearing on his phone in front of him.


    *System creation starting*


    Gathering data....


    -Notification Sound Set-


    -Guide Voice Set-


    The words confused him. Was his phone really updating at the end of the world? Whatever was happening really must be frying it in the inside. But shutting it off only caused more panic, the words not disappearing off the screen. What was worst was when he eventually looked away from the phone, the messages following his eyes. It didn''t help that the blue lights from outside where now piercing through his window. He tried to backup, away from the light, away from the messages. But both followed. Finally, a new message popped up, along with a voice to read it.


    - An astral disaster has occurred -


    Currently gathering data... Analysing Myth/Legends... extracting...


    "Wha... What''s happening?"


    - Steven System has been made -


    -Installing System... User going into hibernation-


    The last this Steven saw before darkness took him, was a blinding light swallowing his whole room and one last massage.


    May you bring entertainment to the watchers

 Day 1: What the hell?

    Steven stirs awake, feeling a wall against his back. He slowly opens his eyes, blinking a few times as the light hits him. It''s then when he realises he''s outside.


    "Then what am I..." he turns around, still unsure if this is a dream or not, but quickly finds apart of the hotel wall. It was just a chunk of the wall from before, just big enough for his back to lay on, the sides of it perfectly smooth and the edges of the tacky wallpaper burnt black.


    "What kinda dream is this?" Slowly getting up, he could still feel the grogginess of his body, his muscles feeling like he just ran a marathon. He then saw it at the corner of his eye.


    Steven System 0.1 Alpha


    It was the same font as what his phone would show, using while showing the model of the phone. "What''s a ''Steven'' Sy-" before he could finish he question, a window expanded from the corner until it filled his view.


    Congratulations for surviving your first astral event


    Please choose one of three system functions


    -Achievements


    -Levels


    -Titles


    Warning: These functions may or may not appear again in later System Developments


    "What the hell?! Was I playing some MMO when I was trying to sleep? And what does it mean I can only choose one, aren''t all of these usually a given."


    Please choose


    The voice of the system seem to have a sterner tone to it this time. It sounded familiar to Steven as well, but where did he hear it. Not able to think of the person in time, and not wanting to gain even more ire of this system, he made a quick decision. "Fine, Levels"


    You have chosen ''Levels''


    "Every Action has an Equal and Opposite reaction" (Issac Newton)


    "... Why did it just quote at me?"


    Now imprinting Levels in the Steven System... Updating..


    Suddenly a wave of pain envelops Steven''s body. He swears he can feel bones pop and organs move within himself, some feverish heat spreading over his body before all of it suddenly stops.


    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    Levels have been imprinted


    Level 1


    "O-Okay... Okay" He huffs out deep breaths as his torso is hunched over, his hands on his knees. "This isn''t a dream. There''s no way in hell it is! So, what happened?" He tries to think of the previous day, his memories of what looked like his final moments as blue flames engulfed his hotel room hitting him all at once.


    "Wait... did I die? I don''t feel dead." He finally looks around his surroundings, it surrounded by unnaturally green grass and tall trees in the distance. The only human made thing nearby being the chunk of hotel wall. "This looks like a place dead people would go, if there we other people. But then what''s with the wall." He quickly found himself rubbing the side of his head, noticing something else. He moved his hands slowly up, horror slowly dawning on him. "No... No, No, No! You can''t do this to me! I worked so hard for this!" His hands rub across his head, only feeling smooth skin. He then felt his face, once again feeling no hair what so ever.


    "Fuuuuck" he fell to his knees, realising that the long years of having long hair and a bushy beard has ended, that era of his life now over. "I''ll avenge you hair, I swear it" he said while dramatically raising a fist to the air, shaking it to the heavens... only to be meet with silence. He lowered his hand, looking around but still finding no one. He hoped that at least joking with himself might ease the growing tension, but it didn''t. Several questions started to flood his mind as the silence seemed to surround him. Was his family alright? What about Heather? Who was she even with? Where is everyone? Each question hitting him like a brick, before he finally took a deep breath in and simply moved forward.


    Just like usual. Big project with a steep deadline? Just move forward. Other IT gets let go due to budget cuts? Just. Move. Forward. He will have time to think about this later, if ever wanted to. Right now, he needed to see more of his surroundings. Maybe then he can find more people.


    He walked to the trees far away, hoping that it might lead to some type of forest. Back when he was a kid, his father took him and his two siblings out camping. His father was very passionate about the outdoors, teaching all of them about basic hunting and scavenging. If he was honest though, not a lot of it stuck. Steven became a lot more interested in computer games when he reached his teens, and then quickly became the family''s teach self-taught tech expert. Still though, something was better then nothing in this case. "Wait a second" he said out loud while still walking, the trees were getting closer into view at this point, the forest past them in full view now. Ignoring the forest for now, he reaches into his jean pocket before pulling out his phone. "Fuck yeah! Suck it blue fire!"


    He pulled the phone in front of him instinctively, only to find that the screen was completely broken. Hoping that it would at least turn on, he held down the power button. But nothing happened, not even the 0 battery icon. "Damn you blue fire! First you take my hair, now my phone!" Just as he was going to dramatically raise his phone, another thought pasted him. Why was he afraid to look up? He raised his hand up before, yet he didn''t look towards it. He didn''t even look at while walking closer to the forest, only looking to the trees. What was making him so afraid? The memory of the sky filled with flames hits him, a cold sweat going down his neck. "I-It can''t be still like that right? No, no. It''s stupid to be afraid of the sky. I just need to look up. Look..." He strained his neck, as if fighting off an invisible wall "Up!" Then finally, as if breaking through, his head shot up to look up.


    The sky seemed almost fuller somehow. The flames where indeed gone, yet the blue skies seemed even more vibrant than before, almost like they were waiting to be set ablaze once again. But, the most disturbing thing, and the rest of it seemed to look bigger, was the now small blue ball sitting in the middle of the sky. It was the sun. "What the hell?!"

 Day 1 Part 2: Level Up!

    Leaves finally covered the sight of the blue ball in the sky, the shade from the surrounding trees seemingly darker than normal.


    "Maybe it''s because the sun is brighter?"


    Steven, now deep into the forest, looks around as the tree trunks around him seem... burnt? Like the bark itself was almost as black as charcoal. Yet, there wasn''t any smoking coming from them, or even a smell. But before he could take a closer look, a growl deeper in the forest seems to draw his attention forwards again.


    Before him, scratching against the trees with a clear sign of discomfort, was a lone wolf. Not even noting that the wolf was by itself, Steven noticed the odder detail of the wolf. Blue like veins seem to be all around the animal''s body, glowing underneath the fur with weird pulses. The wolf itself seemed to wine with every other glowing pulse, it''s snout slowly getting more and more crinkled. It''s just then, it''s eyes spot Steven, staring at the creature like a deer in headlights, or maybe wolf-lights in this case?


    "Shit shit shi-" finally realising that he was standing still, Steven suddenly started to walk backwards slowly, not turning his back to the wolf in front of him. The wolf seemed to have the same idea... until, just as it was placing it''s back paw up, the pulses suddenly to increase in frequency and intensity, now piercing the thick shadows across the forest, before a blue glint enters the wolf''s eyes. It then suddenly started to charge at the man, one of it''s paws extended outwards, swiping at Steven. Having to make a quick decision, the man throws himself the side at the last minute, the paw hitting the tree behind him. The sound of something sharp sinking through the wood could be heard from his side as an almost cartoon sized claw mark was made against the tree, almost cutting through half of it. Steven was on the ground now, panting for air as he looked at the tree where he was and then back at the wolf, seeing the claws at his paws now extended by a blue energy.


    He didn''t need to think about what would happen if those claws hit him, he knew that it would kill him. The wolf itself seemed to be struggling with something as it shook it''s head as if to get something off, only to look back to Steven with the same blue glint. Steven immediately started crawl backwards, before hitting up against another tree. His eyes widen his shock and horror, everything seemingly going into slow motion. The, well it''s best to say monster at this point, leaping forward with it''s glowing jaws opening as it cocks it''s head, aiming for Steven''s throat. Instinct took over as Steven''s body suddenly duck to down just in time before a sickening crunch is heard from above him. Opening his eyes, Steven looks up to see the wolf''s fangs stuck into the tree, each teeth sunk into the wood. It didn''t seem like it was about to free it''s jaws loose from the tree, only trying to pull away or bite further into meat of the tree. Suddenly, Steven found his body moving again, his arms quick moving and hands gripping around the throat of the wolf. Pressing with strength he could swear he never had before, he continued to squeeze around the neck. This attempt seem to disrupt something, or maybe whatever was happening to this wolf seemed to run out of energy, but the blue energy from before seem to disappear from the animal. This did not stop it from fight back though as Steven was choking it, using it''s now normal claws to scrap and scratch away at his chest. But Steven didn''t even seem to notice as he could hear his own heartbeat in his ears, his legs wrapping around the body of the wolf to were it down even more. What felt like a eternity passed as this desperate struggle continue, blood trickling down the raw and raked torso of Steven, and the claws of the wolf loosing more and more power, it''s small chest slowing down. Then suddenly, the wolf''s whole body seem to go limp on top of Steven. Not believing that''s enough, his hands continued to squeeze at it, his whole body screaming in pain as he forced the muscles in his arms. It''s only after a ringing from out of nowhere finally snapped him out, his own body laying down on the ground. He could see dark spots in his vision, his body weak and more importantly, cold. It finally hit him, just as he felt something both wet and sticky soaked his clothes, how much blood did he lose? Probably more than he should. It''s not like it would matter now. Not a hospital in sight.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    But just as he was about to give up, looking up to the sky, with light barely coming through the bed of leaves, a familiar voice starts to speak as a message appears in front of him.


    Mutated Wolf Defeated


    10 exp gained


    Level up!